Abstract
Current web surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau require respondents to type in a URL and an authentication code. This task can be particularly difficult for older adults due to the fine motor movements required for this task. One potential solution may be to allow respondents to access web surveys through a Quick Response (QR) code. Although QR code adoption has increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, no standardized set of instructions has been developed to allow less-tech savvy individuals (e.g., older adults) to successfully use QR codes, and the usability of this technology for older adults has not been explored.
In the present study (conducted in the United States between October and November 2022), 19 older adults (mean age = 63.68 years) attempted to access a survey by scanning a QR code in a paper invitation. This invitation also included step-by-step instructions on how to access the survey using the QR code. The results of this study showed an overall high level of usability (effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction) of QR codes. The most common usability problem was the lack of affordance of the tappable link that appears after scanning the QR code. Because different operating systems present the tappable link in different ways, and given the small space available in the invitation, it is not possible to provide detailed instructions to avoid this usability issue.
Regardless of the usability issues encountered, most of the users stated that they would prefer to scan a QR code over ty** a URL because it helped them avoid the ty** errors that they usually commit when trying to type a web address in their smartphone. Given the high prevalence of QR codes, and the findings of the present study, including QR codes in survey invitations is a viable method to increase the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which older adults access a survey on a mobile device.
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Acknowledgements
Disclaimer: Any opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the U.S. Census Bureau. Disclosure number CBDRB-FY23-CBSM002-005.
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Rivas, A.G., Schulzetenberg, A. (2023). QR Codes as a Method for Older Adults to Access a Mobile Survey. In: Gao, Q., Zhou, J. (eds) Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. HCII 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14042. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-34866-2_10
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